Go Back

Moroccan-Spiced Grilled Chicken Kebabs

While these skewers are prime for making sandwiches, they’re excellent served with seasoned rice and a side salad or sauce, as I did a few days later. For marinating the chicken, I used Greek whole milk yogurt and would advise using that. If that’s unavailable, use whole milk yogurt. Boneless chicken breasts or boneless leg of lamb will work for this recipe in place of the thighs. If using wooden skewers, soaking them in water for 30 minutes prior to threading them helps prevent them from burning, although these cook rather quickly and wasn’t an issue for me. Ras el hanout is sold in shops specializing in North African or Arabic ingredients. It’s available online at Amazon, Kalustyan’s, The Spanish Table, The Spice House, and World Market. You can mix and grind up your own ras el hangout, too.
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 small onion, peeled
  • 3/4 cup (180g) whole milk plain yogurt, preferably Greek-style
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 5 teaspoons ras el hanout
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika, sweet or smoked
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2- pounds (900g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat, cut into 1 1/4-inch (4cm) pieces
  • Finely mince the garlic. Grate the onion with the large holes of a grater. (Alternately, you can cut the garlic and onion into smaller pieces and finely chop them together in a mini-chopper.) Put onions and garlic in a large zip-top freezer bag. You may also put them in a medium bowl and marinade the chicken in the bowl.
  • Mix in the yogurt, lemon juice, ras el hanout, salt, black pepper, paprika, red pepper, and chicken. Before you close the bag, push most of the air out of it, then seal the bag. Massage the chicken pieces so that they are all covered. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.
  • To cook, thread the chicken pieces on 4 to 6 skewers. Light the grill until the heat until it’s very hot. Brush the grill with a bit of oil and grill the skewers on one side until they are seared with grill marks, about 4 or 5 minutes, then turn the skewers and grill until the chicken is cooked through. They’ll take about 8-9 minutes, total. If you don’t have a grill, you can make these in a lightly oiled grill pan on the stovetop.

Notes

Serve with pita or flatbread, rice, couscous, bulghur, or another grain. It also goes well with a sauce, such as eggplant jam, tzatziki, or chermoula. Another possibility is the Cucumber and Feta Salad.